Cleveland general manager David Griffin, who represented the team, labeled the lottery fortune as a "defining moment." The Cavaliers have had a lot of those lately. Last year, they selected Anthony Bennett out of UNLV first overall. In 2011, they took All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving first.

"It was incredible," Griffin said. "When Cleveland didn't pop up at nine, I knew obviously we had moved up and I had to gather myself for a second. Just a remarkable feeling."

Now the next move for the franchise will be finding a coach. Cleveland fired Mike Brown at the beginning of the month after just one season in his second stint coaching the team. Griffin said landing the top pick won't be a major factor in hiring a new head coach.

"If anything it certainly makes it a more attractive destination, but that's a process that's sort of in its infancy right now," Griffin said. "I don't really think of them as being correlated."

GALLERY: Full 2014 NBA draft first-round order

The Cavaliers defied the odds by winning the top pick in the NBA draft. With June 26 around the corner, this is the order teams will make their first-round selections: (Photo: Kathy Willens, AP)

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The Orlando Magic nabbed the fourth pick, while the Utah Jazz rounded out the top five. The Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, the league's most storied franchises, nabbed the sixth and seventh picks.

One interesting quirk: The Cavaliers' jump meant the Detroit Pistons fell to No. 9, giving the pick to the newly renamed Charlotte Hornets because the pick had top-eight protection.

It's unclear who will be the top pick in this year's star-studded class. Wiggins and Embiid are both trying to become the first No. 1 pick from Kansas since Danny Manning in 1988, while Duke small forward Jabari Parker is also considered a potential top pick.

"Being a competitor, I think I should go No. 1," Wiggins told USA TODAY Sports. "If I don't go No. 1, I want it to be Joel."

"I want to be Rookie of the Year," Embiid said of his future goals. "I want to be a Hall of Famer."

When asked where he wanted to start his career, Embiid was quick to say "Los Angeles." His mindset must change now.

Griffin doesn't have a set idea on who he'll pick first yet.

"We're very open-minded," he said. "We will try to get radically better, much quicker. We really feel like there's a sense of urgency in improving our team as a whole and we're going to look for the right fit and we're very open-minded to what that really means."

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said this draft class will "have a special place in my heart" with next month's draft being his first since taking over for David Stern. Silver has spent the last month answering questions about embattled owner Donald Sterling, who was banned for life after a racist audio recording surfaced but said the NBA's best days have yet to come.

Five days after investment firm executives Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry officially became the owners of the Milwaukee Bucks, the franchise inched another step closer to starting a new era with the second overall pick. The Bucks, who lost 67 games last season, had a 25% chance of getting the coveted ping pong ball.

"As much attention that has been focused on Mr. (Donald) Sterling, Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry show we have an incredible group of owners," Silver said of the Bucks' new owners.

This year's draft class is also one of the deepest in recent memory, with Australian point guard Dante Exum, Kentucky's Julius Randle, Arizona's Aaron Gordon, Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart, Indiana's Noah Vonleh all projected top 10 picks who could help turn around programs.

"Any player in the top 10 can change your team tremendously," ESPN Jay Bilas said.

GALLERY: Heartbreak at the draft lottery

For the NBA's bottom-rung teams, the draft lottery can provide access to fortune-shifting prospects. This year, the Milwaukee Bucks had the best odds for the No 1 pick but were jumped by the Cleveland Cavaliers for a shot at Kansas forward Andrew Wiggins (left) or center Joel Embiid. Here's a look back at teams who had their hearts broken by the lottery and the players they could have had. (Photo: Kevin Jairaj, USA TODAY Sports)

2008: The Miami Heat finished a league-worst 15-67 just two years after winning the title. But the Chicago Bulls jumped from the No. 9 slot all the way to No. 1 and grabbed Derrick Rose. Pat Riley and the Heat begrudgingly took Michael Beasley, and a few years later some guy named LeBron James came to town. Seems like a fair trade-off. (Photo: Todd Plitt USA TODAY)

2007: The Memphis Grizzlies and Boston Celtics looked to be in good shape, as Greg Oden (center) and Kevin Durant (left) were both billed as can't-miss prospects. But the Portland Trail Blazers and Seattle SuperSonics grabbed the top two picks. Though Oden was the consensus top pick entering the draft, a series of career-derailing injuries left the Trail Blazers to wonder what they had passed up in the perennial All-Star Durant. And, uh, Spencer Hawes (right) was there, too. (Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY Sports)

1997: This Boston Celtics fan probably regrets his sign. The Celtics sat behind only the Vancouver Grizzlies for the best shot at Tim Duncan, but San Antonio moved from No. 3 and sealed a seamless transition from one legendary big man (David Robinson) to the next. Then-Celtics coach Rick Pitino had to add Duncan to his list of people "not walking through that door." (Photo: Ed Nessen, Associated Press)

1996: The Vancouver Grizzlies had some lousy lottery luck before moving to Memphis. The Grizzlies tumbled to No. 3 despite having the best shot at No. 1 in 1996, and the 76ers took Allen Iverson. Vancouver ended up with franchise fixture Shareef Abdur-Rahim, but he was a far cry from The Answer. (Photo: Chris Gardner, Associated Press)

1993: Despite finishing with 41-41 and having just a 1.52% chance at the top pick, the Magic grabbed No. 1 a year after pulling off the same feat. The Magic drafted Chris Webber and immediately traded him to the Warriors. The Dallas Mavericks had plenty of reason to feel bitter for being slotted No. 4 despite a dismal 13-69 record the year before. (Photo: Ben Margot, Associated Press)

1992: Before the NBA introduced its weighted lottery system for the 1994 draft, teams could more easily leapfrog to No. 1. The Minnesota Timberwolves learned that when the Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets moved to the front of the line to take Shaquille O'Neal and Alonzo Mourning. The Timberwolves were left with Christian Laettner. (Photo: NBA Photos, NBAE/Getty Images)

1987: David Robinson had to complete two years in service to the Naval Academy before he could join an NBA team, but he was still prized enough to be selected No. 1 overall. The 12-70 Los Angeles Clippers were the league's worst team the previous season, but they were burned by a system that gave one envelope each to seven teams in contention for the top pick. They drafted Reggie Williams at No. 4, one spot ahead of Scottie Pippen. (Photo: H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY Sports)

1985: The first year of the lottery was likely its most controversial. The New York Knicks, who had the third-worst record behind the Indiana Pacers and Golden State Warriors, won the ultimate prize of the No. 1 pick and Patrick Ewing. But the ordering made some question whether the league had intended for the Knicks to get Ewing, and some conspiracy theorists still swear by the frozen envelope. (Photo: Tim Dillon, USA TODAY Sports)